N.C. State University design and construction team named State Champion two consecutive years
Winning design to be built by Self-Help for low-income family
April 27 , 2007
RALEIGH — N.C. State University's design and construction team took top winnings as State Champion again this year in the N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition held on Earth Day, April 21 at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh. N.C. State's design won for its unique, durable, safe, energy-efficient and comfortable features and will be constructed by Self-Help, a community development lender based in North Carolina, for a low-income family. The team took home a $3,000 cash prize as part of its winnings, and will go on to compete in a national competition.
The N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition challenges students to create a design that incorporates green building practices in a way that is affordable and practical for actual construction. The student design must incorporate features and technologies addressing areas such as: energy efficiency, renewable energy, material selection, hazard mitigation, site planning, water efficiency, universal design, affordability, building science and indoor environmental air quality. In its seventh year, the competition involved more than 1,200 students, professors and professionals, and 10 colleges and universities.
"This student work displayed in this competition illustrates that a very comfortable, practical, contextual and sustainable house can be designed and built on a tight budget," said Randall Lanou, faculty advisor for the team. "Not only does it make one very well designed sustainable house available to a family with limited economic resources, it provides an example of how to do just that for many families."
The university was also Champion winner in last year's competition, which qualified them to represent North Carolina in the National Natural Talent Design Competition, where they won first place. The national competition is coordinated by the Emerging Green Builders, a young professional group of the U.S. Green Building Council.
"The Design Competition is proving to local and national audiences that homes built with green building practices can be affordable and mainstream," said Tracy Dixon, executive director for the program.
Second place winner was a Cape Fear Community College team from Wilmington, N.C. Third place winner was a team from Forsyth Technical Community College out of Winston-Salem, N.C. Two honorable mentions were awarded to teams from East Carolina University and Appalachian State University. The Pitt Community College team received the Founder's Award for innovation. Participating schools included: Appalachian State University, Architectural and Construction College [Mogilev, Belarus], Cape Fear Community College, Coastal Carolina Community College, College of the Albemarle, East Carolina University, Forsyth Technical Community College, N.C. A&T University, N.C. State University and Pitt Community College.
The competition has made an international impact on understanding green building practices. In 2006, the competition began an international collaboration with the Architecture and Construction College in Mogilev, Republic of Belarus, started by Herb Burns, Dept. Chair of Architecture/Construction Tech. and Forsyth Technical Community College. Belarus students are competing in the North Carolina Sustainable Design Competition to understand how they might implement a similar program in their school and expand it to the rest of Belarus.
Program supporters include Advanced Energy, Architectural Energy Corporation, Building Green, Carolinas Credit Union Foundation, Duke Energy, Emerging Green Builders, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Progress Energy, Self-Help, State Employees Credit Union Community Fund and Touchstone Energy Cooperatives of North Carolina.
About N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition
The N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition brings focus to the issue of sustainability and its application to real-world building design. The competition aims to integrate the principles of sustainability into design and construction curriculums. Increased understanding of green building practices in the building industry, both by current and future professionals will help to spread the knowledge of how sustainable building practices can create a viable, sustainable future.
The N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition is coordinated by Advanced Energy and the Triangle Emerging Green Builders. Advanced Energy is a Raleigh-based non-profit which works to help utilities and residential, commercial and industrial customers improve their businesses through incorporating new energy-related technologies. Its building science group works to make the spaces in which we live, work and learn exemplary [healthy, safe, durable, comfortable, affordable and environmentally sensitive].
About Triangle Emerging Green Builders
The Triangle Emerging Green Builders is a national organization with more than 200 members. The group focuses on involving students and young professionals in the green building movement. The Triangle Emerging Green Building Committee is one of the largest and strongest of the nearly 70 local groups worldwide, both in events and members. For more information, contact Sharon Gladwell at sgladwell@advancedenergy.org or log onto www.advancedenergy.org.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 am to 5 pm, and Sun., noon to 5 pm. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the Web at naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
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